Links Between Listening and Learning Difficulties

Links between Trauma, Listening and Learning Difficulties such as ADHD, Dyslexia

Learning and Behaviour

Posted on July 22, 2024

Many children find classrooms stressful.

In a room full of sights, sounds and smells, a vulnerable child can easily be triggered into a state of sensory overload. In this hyper-reactive state it doesn’t take much to tip them over the edge into a full-on fight/flight or dissociative reaction.

These behaviours are all natural survival responses to feeling threatened, and are bringing us a message. Research shows they are often linked to signs of ADD, ADHD and Dyslexia, and invariably there has been an experience of trauma, either in the child’s early life, or inherited through ancestral trauma.

What is Trauma?

Trauma ia usually defined as an overwhelming experience that was too big to process at the time. In other words, it’s not what happened to you, but how your body has responded to what happened to you. Because we are part of a family lineage, we are also impacted by traumatic events experienced by past generations. In the words of Mark Wolynn, which is also the title of his book, “it didn’t start with you”.

Learning and Behaviour Through a Trauma Lens

Learning happens best when we feel safe, and our senses are open to taking in new information. When we don’t feel safe, our nervous system will scan our environment for sources of threat. Children who have experienced unresolved trauma will generally have a heightened sense of awareness, with nervous systems that are easily triggered.

When people in authority, such as parents or teachers are stressed, their voices can sound threatening to these children. This makes it really hard to pay attention and focus on what the person is saying. In this case, they are more likely to pick up the emotion within the voice, and may simply either “tune out” or “act out”. This can make classroom learning very difficult, and the child find themselves in trouble for “not paying attention”.

Linking Listening with Learning Difficulties such as ADHD and Dyslexia

Listening or auditory processing describes our ability to take in and process what we are hearing. Learning in the classroom, then, requires the ability to focus on the speaker’s voice and process what they are saying. To do this we need to be able to block out background sounds. This is difficult when our nervous system is sending signals of threat.

You might notice that a child is sitting quietly and appears to be paying attention, but when questioned, has been off in dreamland. Others might be easily distracted, talking to classmates and disturbing their neighbours. Some may have poor social communication and/or hyper-sensitivity to loud or sudden noises. Perhaps the repetitive sounds of the child nearby repeatedly tapping their pencil on the desk will set off a fight/flight reaction in their nervous system.

Difficulties with listening or auditory processing can impact your child’s learning in a number of ways. You may notice similarities with symptoms of ADD/ADHD and dyslexia:

Trouble bringing thoughts to words
Delays in reading, writing and spelling
Difficulty taking notes
Poor phonics and speech discrimination
Difficulty with memorising
Difficulty following a sequence of instructions
Heightened stress responses
Daydreaming, or dissociating (tuning out)
Inconsistencies in spelling
Spelling words exactly as they hear them
Poor social skills
Often seems to be “off with the fairies”, and not listening
Hypersensitive to certain sounds
Restless, talkative as they seek co-regulation with a classmate

Not Naughty but Feeling Unsafe

Our children’s behaviours are bringing us a message. Could they be saying “Help me, I don’t feel safe, and I can’t deal with all of this on my own”?

Reactive children risk being labelled as “naughty” or “troublesome”and punished for “bad” behaviour. However, when the behaviour is a response to feeling threatened, it is happening below conscious awareness. In other words, they are not choosing to upset you. The behaviour has nothing to do with being “good” or “bad”, and more to do with a heightened nervous system. In an attempt to understand these behaviours, your child’s classroom teacher may suggest the child “needs diagnosis” of ADD, ADHD or Dyslexia.

Helping Children to Feel Safe

Rather than criticism and punishment, children usually respond well to a friendly, co-regulating presence, and well-modulated vocal tone. This will help them to feel safe, seen, and understood. As their nervous system relaxes, background sounds retreat, and it is easier to focus on and make sense of what you or their teacher is saying. Feeling safe as a result, their potential for learning (social, emotional, behavioural and academic) is improved.

Supporting Children in the Classroom

There are a number of ways to help children when learning and behaviour are impacted by sensory processing difficulties, particularly listening or auditory processing:

Sit where they can watch the teacher’s face for visual cues
Speak directly to the child
Offer information is small, digestible parts and make sure they have understood
Minimise background noise
Find a quiet space with minimal distractions for classwork
Minimise visual distractions to avoid overwhelm
Maintain a friendly vocal tone when speaking, avoiding high or low-frequency sounds that can be triggering for a vulnerable nervous system.
Explain concepts visually using pictures and written text

A Listening Assessment can Help

If you are concerned about your child’s learning and/or behaviour, a listening assessment is a good place to start. This can help to identify the “roots” of your child’s struggle. It is available either on its own, or as part of a more comprehensive assessment to identify immaturities in other areas of early development.

The Assessment will look at how well your child is able to:

block out background sounds and focus on a speaker’s voice
make sense of unclear speech
understand language when they are presented with a different word in each ear simultaneously
memorise a series of instructions
process sequences of syllables and sounds within common words (phonological awareness)

I normally include a written report to share with your child’s teacher, and will generally suggest a program of Listening Therapy. I have used and recommend Integrated Listening Systems with clients. I used it for myself and my daughter, with excellent results.

School-based Sensorimotor Development Program

Perhaps your child’s school is interested in offering a generic sensory motor development program such as that developed by the Institute for Neuro-physiological Psychology (INPP). This has been well-researched and is based on understanding brain science and the importance of early stages of development as a foundation for all later learning.

Note: If you’re worried about your child’s hearing, it is a good idea to make an appointment to see an audiologist. (You may need a GP or paediatrician referral).

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About Rosalind

Since 2005 I have been helping children with learning and behavioural challenges such as autism, dyslexia, ADHD and other sensory processing difficulties. I use an holistic, or whole child approach combining counselling with a development movement program, known as The Extra Lesson. This program addresses underlying immaturities in early development that are contributing to their learning and behavioural challenges. Sessions are available in person at Moruya South Head.